Veena’s review of A Wedding in Lake Como (Meet Me in Italy, Book 3) by Jennifer Probst
Women’s Fiction published by Berkley 14 May 24
Three young women meet in college and become bosom friends. They exchanged pinky promises and made blood pacts that their friendship would last forever, and no one would ever come between them. Can they navigate the curve balls that life throws at them and still come out as friends?
While this may be billed at as romantic suspense, it’s really women’s fiction taking the reader through the solid friendship shared between three young women as they navigate college, careers, and determine who they want to grow up to be.
Chelsea has always been clear about who she is and what she wants out of life, and yet she is the first one to meet the man of her dreams and succumb to the lure of marriage and children. On the surface she has it all, but she might be the most unsatisfied of them all.
Madison works her way into a career of fashion and hashtags to become a premier influencer. She has met the man of her dreams and is prepared to sacrifice all to become a housewife. She, of course, has the most to lose and loses it all, including her two best friends, even as she climbs to the summit of her career – only to see it all crash and burn around her.
Ava is the most successful, a spoiled daughter of a rich father. She is determined to hang on to her father and her friendships, no matter what she has to sacrifice. Another one who finds it all burnt to a waste around her, as she learns that humans can only be manipulated so far. Now she’s getting married, and, as a last chance, invites her friends to her wedding in Lake Como where they first exchanged those promises and their blood pact. Can their friendship recover any semblance of what it once was?
This is a slow-burn story that plays out some difficult scenarios. Madison, on the surface, has lost the most. Can she forgive and forget and rebuild? Ava has also learned from her mistakes, grown and found the most amazing man to love her, but can she restore what she once destroyed? Chelsea has gained so much but lost the essence of what she once wanted. Does she also have a second chance at her career?
Life isn’t perfect, but when chance throws you a life jacket, do you hold on for all you’re worth and ride to safety? Somewhat thought provoking, somewhat disturbing, but definitely worth the read.
Grade: B
Summary:
Best friends Ava, Madison, and Chelsea made a pact to reunite for each other’s weddings when their careers sent them in different directions. But after one of them makes a choice that tears the group apart, an upcoming wedding might be their last chance to heal old wounds.
Ava is about to marry the man she loves in a lavish ceremony on the shores of Lake Como, but she’s haunted by the mistakes she’s made.
Madison’s made a name for herself as an influencer in the fashion world but is threatened by a scandal impacting everything she holds dear.
And Chelsea has the perfect family she always craved, but her professional dreams have fallen by the wayside.
As they return to Italy’s gorgeous coast, the three women revisit their life-changing first trip to Lake Como during college. When Madison comes face-to-face with the college sweetheart who was at the heart of one of the most pivotal times of her life, can they forge a new way forward?
No excerpt available.
